Tina Dupuy Takes on the Tampa Tribune for fair payment

Posted on by

Now there’s one impressive way to make sure you get paid fair and square.

Tina Dupuy sent one of her articles to the Tampa Tribune and heard nothing back, until she got a Google Alert leading her to the very piece she had sent to the newspaper who decided that they would go ahead and publish it… without her permission or consent. She wasn’t asking for fortunes, just recognition and the 75 dollars that is the standard fee for this type of submission.

Did she just sit back and say, oh well, better luck next time?

Nope.  Tina Dupuy decides that this just isn’t on.  Time for some Youtube and Social Media power. She put together a post and a video explaining the situation and the response from the news paper.

But the story didnt end there.  Tina did a second video and post. Why? Because she got a result.  She didn’t sue or scream and shout, the result was completely fair for both parties involved so there’s definitely a lesson in here, but I will let Tina explain it.

Take a minute to read and watch Tinas  story and the outcome of that story and come back and tell me that’s not brilliant. I dare you.

  • http://www.adventcreative.com/ Adam

    Great post, thank you. Newspapers are in such trouble. Not only are they lacking in their adaptation to social media, they’re seemingly unaware of what is being said of them on social media.

  • http://www.angiescopywriting.com/ Angie Haggstrom

    I love the fact that she forced the Tampa Tribune to stick to the rules. The reality is that content theft happens all the time.

    As Ms Dupuy stated, writers often submit work to magazines and newspapers in the hopes that it will be accepted. And by accepted, I mean paid for. Most of the time, these pieces are rejected, but if they are, the writer maintains the copyright and can submit it elsewhere without worry. It usually doesn’t take long to find a buyer if it’s a well written piece.

    The only thing I worry about with this form of retribution is this:

    We’ve seen this same thing happen with United and several other companies. A customer or worker gets tired of being shifted and makes a video.

    Now, the reason why these videos and stories go so viral is because they’re rare and shocking. But, how long before this method has lost it’s edge? How long before the general public gets tired of this type of thing and moves on? And, how many companies will have the opportunity to learn their lessons before it does?

    • http://www.justinparks.com Justin Parks

      Fair comments Angie.

      There are a couple of ways this could pan out I guess. Companies could be held in check more rigorously by the fact that their failings can be made public quickly by individuals, though I agree this type of success may have a shelf life as it becomes more common.

      I think at the moment it is us, the users, who are cautiously exploring our power, influence and reach and provided the standards are maintained and an attitude of “fair play” is followed then it cant but work out.

      Sure enough though, some one out there will end up suing someone else or a company via social media and win shed loads of money rather than righting a wrong. Thats when it all goes to hell.

      Also, companies can (and I believe are) adding “spin” these types of events to make them and the brand look better by staged events and I’m expecting an increase in this type of practice as well.

      How it will pan out in the long term is anyone’s guess, but if it all goes wrong, we can only blame ourselves for letting it happen.

  • http://www.brooksvillepc.com Suthnautr

    Interesting. I’ve often sent emails to the editor of Hernando Today (owned by the Tampa Tribune), and am pleased to say that all but one were published. Letters to the editor commonly comment on recently published stories still in the minds of the readers, and make reference to these stories.

    Thus it should have been obvious to the Tampa Tribune that the piece written by Tina Dupuy was entirely different in nature from a common comment reacting to just published news, and quite plainly an article for which she deserved and expected payment.

    An example to prove the point is that after I took photos of a truck accident I presented them to the editor of the Hernando Today and he instructed me that they could not publish them until they had my social security number so they could pay me $25 for each photo they used. I’m glad Tina Dupuy made a stand and got paid.

    This whole episode makes me wonder whether there’s some deeper meaning here than simply taking Tina’s story and using it without her permission. This one instance alone should give a clue to those at the Tampa Tribune and elsewhere why they’re headed down hill.

    Newspapers are all crying “broke” and blaming their woes on online newspapers and blogs. What has happened to the famous investigative reporting and “newspaper man” mentality that made newspapers so great in the past? Simply Googling “Tina Depuy” would have brought up the Huffington Post which describes Ms. Depuy as “an award-winning writer, investigative journalist and stand up comic”. It takes just five seconds to Google a name – and they should have Google’d both the name and a line or two from her story as well. If they’re not taking the time to do even this for every story they receive then they’re not making any real effort. What if Tina’s submitted work wasn’t even her own but somebody else’s and that story had already been published under a different name elsewhere? Simply pasting a line or two of Tina Depuy’s story into Google might have shown that the content wasn’t original and had been copyrighted elsewhere (neither of which happens to be true, of course). But if tomorrow someone calling himself “Ted Bundy” sent the Tampa Tribune part of a speech from Malcolm X and nobody at the paper checked the name and then the story, and then the Tribune went ahead and published it without even trying to contact Ted Bundy – the question is: What kind of junior high school quality newspaper is that?

  • http://www.adventcreative.com/ Adam

    Great post, thank you. Newspapers are in such trouble. Not only are they lacking in their adaptation to social media, they're seemingly unaware of what is being said of them on social media.
    Adam @Advent Creative Web Design

  • http://www.angiescopywriting.com/ Angie Haggstrom

    I love the fact that she forced the Tampa Tribune to stick to the rules. The reality is that content theft happens all the time.

    As Ms Dupuy stated, writers often submit work to magazines and newspapers in the hopes that it will be accepted. And by accepted, I mean paid for. Most of the time, these pieces are rejected, but if they are, the writer maintains the copyright and can submit it elsewhere without worry. It usually doesn't take long to find a buyer if it's a well written piece.

    The only thing I worry about with this form of retribution is this:

    We've seen this same thing happen with United and several other companies. A customer or worker gets tired of being shifted and makes a video.

    Now, the reason why these videos and stories go so viral is because they're rare and shocking. But, how long before this method has lost it's edge? How long before the general public gets tired of this type of thing and moves on? And, how many companies will have the opportunity to learn their lessons before it does?

  • http://www.justinparks.com justinparks

    Fair comments Angie.

    There are a couple of ways this could pan out I guess. Companies could be held in check more rigorously by the fact that their failings can be made public quickly by individuals, though I agree this type of success may have a shelf life as it becomes more common.

    I think at the moment it is us, the users, who are cautiously exploring our power, influence and reach and provided the standards are maintained and an attitude of “fair play” is followed then it cant but work out.

    Sure enough though, some one out there will end up suing someone else or a company via social media and win shed loads of money rather than righting a wrong. Thats when it all goes to hell.

    Also, companies can (and I believe are) adding “spin” these types of events to make them and the brand look better by staged events and I'm expecting an increase in this type of practice as well.

    How it will pan out in the long term is anyone's guess, but if it all goes wrong, we can only blame ourselves for letting it happen.

  • http://www.brooksvillepc.com Suthnautr

    Interesting. I've often sent emails to the editor of Hernando Today (owned by the Tampa Tribune), and I'm pleased to say that all but one were all published. A letter to the editor commonly comments on a recently published story still in the minds of the paper's readers, and makes direct reference to the story itself to make it relevant. Thus it was quite obvious to the Tampa Tribune that the piece written by Tina Dupuy was entirely different from a common comment reacting to already published news – and quite plainly an article for which she deserved and expected payment. An example to prove the point is that after taking photos of a truck accident I presented them to the editor of the Hernando Today and he instructed me that they could not publish them until they had my social security number in order to pay me $25 for each photo they used. I'm glad Tina Dupuy got paid. Great job!

  • http://www.justinparks.com Justin Parks

    Fair comments Angie.

    There are a couple of ways this could pan out I guess. Companies could be held in check more rigorously by the fact that their failings can be made public quickly by individuals, though I agree this type of success may have a shelf life as it becomes more common.

    I think at the moment it is us, the users, who are cautiously exploring our power, influence and reach and provided the standards are maintained and an attitude of “fair play” is followed then it cant but work out.

    Sure enough though, some one out there will end up suing someone else or a company via social media and win shed loads of money rather than righting a wrong. Thats when it all goes to hell.

    Also, companies can (and I believe are) adding “spin” these types of events to make them and the brand look better by staged events and I'm expecting an increase in this type of practice as well.

    How it will pan out in the long term is anyone's guess, but if it all goes wrong, we can only blame ourselves for letting it happen.

  • http://www.brooksvillepc.com Suthnautr

    Interesting. I've often sent emails to the editor of Hernando Today (owned by the Tampa Tribune), and am pleased to say that all but one were published. Letters to the editor commonly comment on recently published stories still in the minds of the readers, and make reference to these stories.

    Thus it should have been obvious to the Tampa Tribune that the piece written by Tina Dupuy was entirely different in nature from a common comment reacting to just published news, and quite plainly an article for which she deserved and expected payment.

    An example to prove the point is that after I took photos of a truck accident I presented them to the editor of the Hernando Today and he instructed me that they could not publish them until they had my social security number so they could pay me $25 for each photo they used. I'm glad Tina Dupuy made a stand and got paid.

    This whole episode makes me wonder whether there's some deeper meaning here than simply taking Tina's story and using it without her permission. This one instance alone should give a clue to those at the Tampa Tribune and elsewhere why they're headed down hill.

    Newspapers are all crying “broke” and blaming their woes on online newspapers and blogs. What has happened to the famous investigative reporting and “newspaper man” mentality that made newspapers so great in the past? Simply Googling “Tina Depuy” would have brought up the Huffington Post which describes Ms. Depuy as “an award-winning writer, investigative journalist and stand up comic”. It takes just five seconds to Google a name – and they should have Google'd both the name and a line or two from her story as well. If they're not taking the time to do even this for every story they receive then they're not making any real effort. What if Tina's submitted work wasn't even her own but somebody else's and that story had already been published under a different name elsewhere? Simply pasting a line or two of Tina Depuy's story into Google might have shown that the content wasn't original and had been copyrighted elsewhere (neither of which happens to be true, of course). But if tomorrow someone calling himself “Ted Bundy” sent the Tampa Tribune part of a speech from Malcolm X and nobody at the paper checked the name and then the story, and then the Tribune went ahead and published it without even trying to contact Ted Bundy – the question is: What kind of junior high school quality newspaper is that?